Down 13 in the fourth quarter, Penn Manor’s basketball team stormed back to stun favored Harrisburg 63-61 in the first round of the district playoffs.

“We knew we could win, we lost to them three years ago and we wanted revenge,” said senior Keith Eshlemen, a small forward for the team.

Senior Keith Eshlemen was a key player in the playoff win against Harrisburg

For the first three quarters it looked like the Comets would not get their revenge from Harrisburg (16-8), who they lost to last year in the district quarterfinals, and the 2007 district championship,

Harrisburg dominated the second and third quarters to build up the big lead. But with a 20-2 run in the fourth quarter, the Comets took the lead and never looked back. Eshlemen and fellow senior Jon Brooks hit four key three pointers during the run.

“Parts of the game we really struggled with their pressure but we persevered,” said Penn Manor coach Charles Detz, in an interview with PennLive.com.

Senior Patrick Welsh led the Comets with 21 points for the game.

All the seniors didn’t want the Harrisburg game to be their last.

“We didn’t want to go out, because as freshman we didn’t get to play at the Giant Center and we want to get to states,” said Eshleman.

On Saturday the Comets will try to avenge their two losses earlier this season to undefeated Hempfield.

“Third times a charm,” said Eshleman.

The Comets take on Section One rival Hempfield on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Hershey Giant Center.